Sometimes you need to be blunt and call reality what it is. When protesting a wrong, one should maintain civility and composure, but that doesn’t preclude being forceful and indefatigable.
Over the past few weeks, the Torah readings have been the story of Joseph, who’s brothers had jealously sold him into slavery. After many years, Joseph rose to the position of Viceroy in Egypt, and his brothers approached him – not dreaming it was their long-sold brother – for help in a time of severe famine. Joseph wanted to grant them forgiveness, but wanted first to ascertain whether they regretted how they treated him, so he orchestrated relationship ‘stress tests’ to find out. He (falsely) accused his youngest brother Benjamin of stealing his royal goblet and threatened to keep him as a slave to see if the brothers would go the distance in protecting Benjamin.
Judah was an impoverished Hebrew in a foreign land. He was also a man about whom Jacob called “a fearsome lion, whom one doesn’t dare rouse”. Judah spoke truth to power by saying: “You may not like hearing this, but you created our messy situation, and we don’t accept your proposal.”
I have early childhood memories of Jewish pride in the afterglow of Israel’s decisive 6-day war victory. Since then, I’ve witnessed Israel, and the global Jewish community, twisting themselves into pretzels trying to appease a world that seems to begrudge us any victory.
Judaism sets a Messianic era as our ultimate goal, which means we are always aiming for global peace, between people of all nationalities and faiths. But that doesn’t mean we should accept the gaslighting of our haters.
Since Judah is the ancestor from whom we – Judaism and Jews – take our name, let’s channel some Judah and roar some reality:
1. The Arab-Islamic empire is among the most successful colonialists in human history. In cases where they allowed subjugated populations to practice other faiths, they were forced to pay a special tax. They are estimated to have taken 14-17 million Africans as slaves. 20th century pan-Arabism is an attempt to create an Arab Empire of the Middle East. Tiny Israel stands in the way. Israel has never tried to conquer another country (all its wars are clearly defensive), and never compels other faiths to convert.
2. In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 181, partitioning Biblical Israel into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Arabs rejected the plan and attacked the Jews. The Jews fought back and won. There was a war, launched by the Arabs against their Jewish residents. And there was a victor: Israel. If you start a war in the hopes of conquering another’s land and instead you lose land, you don’t get a do-over.
3. The Hamas charter rejects the UN resolution (otherwise known as ‘International Law’) as null and void. Hamas’ identifies Biblical Israel – in its entirety - as an “Arab Islamic land”. No room for Jews.
4. ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ is the systematic targeting of a specific ethnic group for murder or displacement. In the 20th century, over 850,000 Jews were governmentally expelled from Muslim lands in the Middle East. The Israeli government supports and protects its citizens, irrespective of faith, asking only that they not treasonously wage war against their own country.
5. There has never been an Israeli call for, or attempt at, the genocide of any people, including Palestinian, G-d forbid. At the same time, Hamas is issuing a loud call for Jewish Genocide (Globalize the Intifada, From the River to the Sea, etc.). Let that sink in. The silence of Israel’s Arab neighbors – and too many in American academia - tells us where they stand.
We, Judah, will not be silent.